At least 11 security forces were killed or wounded on Monday night during a clash with the Taliban in Balkh province, local officials said Tuesday.
Monir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for the Balkh police, said the incident occurred on Monday night in Shor Tepa district after Taliban fighters attacked the district police headquarters.
According to Farhad, during the clash the Taliban also suffered casualties, but numbers have not been confirmed.
Reinforcements have arrived in the area, and the district is currently under the control of Afghan forces, Farhad said.
The Taliban confirmed the attack and claimed that dozens of Afghan soldiers were killed in the clash.
In Jawzjan province, 30 local police and armed locals—including the district governor and the district police chief—have been held under siege by the Taliban for the past two days in the Darzab district of the province, officials say.
Lotfullah Azizi, Jawzjan provincial governor, said that the district capital is under the Taliban’s control and that the Afghan forces are pinned down close to the district bazaar.
Azizi said that so far no reinforcements have arrived to the area.
Hafizullah Nadrat, a member of the Jawzjan provincial council, said that if reinforcements are not deployed, the government forces will be captured by the Taliban.
